A major bus fire in London has had an impact on York passengers this week.
The blaze, at the Potters Bar Bus Garage on Sunday (22 May), saw six buses engulfed in flames.
An investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing, but there are concerns it was connected to the battery or charging process of the electric buses involved.
In response, the electric bus manufacturer Switch Mobility has asked operators to pull its fleet of MetroDecker EV models from the streets.
First York has 21 Metrodeckers, all of which were taken out of service yesterday.
A spokesperson for First York said: “We have been asked by the manufacturer to remove the buses from service as a precautionary measure while an investigation into the incident at the depot in Potters Bar is completed.”
There is no timetable for how long that will take.
Yesterday a number of services were disrupted due to the sudden reduction of the fleet.
First York told passengers: “We’ve had to take some buses out of service temporarily and replace these with other vehicles. This will mean a reduced frequency and some delays.
“We would like to apologise to customers and appreciate their patience as we return services to normal.”
It has had to bring in older buses from elsewhere to cover the routes.
Today, the bus operator said: “We’ve managed to replace the majority of our buses that were taken out of service temporarily earlier today and expect to operate close to all services at peak times on Tuesday.
“We’d like to thank our customers for their continued patience and be aware that some delays may occur.”
[tptn_list limit=3 daily=1 hour_range=1]
The Metrodeckers were introduced to York as part of a £9.3m investment in July 2020. They run on the Park&Ride network.
The buses were manufactured in Yorkshire by Switch Mobility, previously known as Optare. They were paid for with £2.7m funding secured by City of York Council from the Office for Low Emission Vehicles.